HEADLINES & HISTORY SINCE 1879 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2025
Vol. 146 No. 10
Local court case has national focus
Songer warns of state attempt to control sheriffs
LOU MARZELES EDITOR A court case in Goldendale has been ping-ponging between a plaintiff representing himself and a defending attorney for weeks now, and the case seems poised to be a battle between First Amendment rights (free speech) and defamation. Its ramifications could resonate on a national scale. Michael Snyder, proprietor of the now-closed Starcade Pizza on Collins Street, brought the defamation suit against four Goldendale people: Darlene Williamson, Leandra Kessinger, Amanda Dershon, and Julia Skillman. His suit cited a series of attacks against him that stated he was a pedophile with a criminal past and a history of domestic violence. At one point, Dershon stated on the Everything Goldendale Facebook page that Snyder was “trafficking your children.” A separate Facebook page was established called “Beware Starcade Pizza Owner” that took Snyder continually to task for the same putative issues. The page drew others who repeated the claims against Snyder, some even saying it was time to drive Snyder out of town; a comment to that effect was made by another local business owner, Ryan Tuor of Dad’s Sourdough Bakery. The four defendants said they drew their observations about Snyder from court documents dating back some 20 years related to a particularly contentious divorce proceeding between Snyder and
RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
his now ex-wife. The documents they drew from almost entirely relied on charges by the ex-wife that suggested gross domestic misconduct. But the final resolution case documents were never cited, which revealed that Snyder was cleared by the court of all charges. Perhaps most revealing was a document in which Snyder’s ex-wife admitted to fabricating many of her charges against him. Despite the assertions of the four accusers, Snyder has no standing criminal history. Snyder’s defamation suit claims the Goldendale defendants made allegations about him they were unable to prove and that were of a particularly nefarious nature. Goldendale attorney Justin Leigh is retained by Williamson, Kessinger, and Dershon. “In essence, my position is that my clients did not defame Mr. Snyder,” Leigh said in an email. “Instead, they were exercising their First Amendment rights of free speech for talking about matters of public concern—that is, Mr. Snyder’s very public, highly irregular, objectively troublesome social media activities.” Leigh did not say what those activities were. The most significant portion of Leigh’s argument may rest on
the phrase “matters of public concern.” As we will see, the history of the conflict between claims of defamation and free speech rights in American jurisprudence has often centered on public visibility, chiefly related to the degree of prominence a person occupies in the public eye. Then we’ll bring this story back to Goldendale. Historical legal milestones Here are some landmark cases that have shaped this area of law: New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, The New York Times published an advertisement soliciting donations to support Martin Luther King, Jr.’s defense against perjury charges. The ad contained minor factual inaccuracies. Although it did not mention him by name, L.B. Sullivan, the city’s Public Safety Commissioner, believed the criticism of his subordinates reflected on him. Under Alabama law, a public figure had to request a public retraction before pursuing punitive damages in a libel case. Sullivan sent a written request to The Times, but the newspaper refused, stating that it found the request confusing. In response, Sullivan
sued The Times and several African American ministers referenced in the ad for libel. A jury in state court awarded him $500,000 in damages, a decision upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court. The Times then appealed. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of The Times in an opinion written by Justice Brennan. The Court held that under the First Amendment, to prove defamation or libel, a plaintiff must show that the defendant knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. It was not enough to demonstrate that a statement about a public figure was false—the plaintiff had to prove it was made with “actual malice.” Brennan clarified that in the context of libel law, “malice” did not mean ill intent but rather knowledge of falsehood or extreme recklessness in publishing the statement. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) Elmer Gertz was a lawyer who represented a family in a civil case against a police officer who had killed their son. Robert Welch, Inc. published the John Birch Society’s magazine “American Opinion,” which ran an arti-
See Case page B1
Council hears on proposed legislation RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL
The Goldendale City Council resumed their regular schedule Monday following the cancellation of their previous meeting for lack of a quorum. That’s because most of them were taking advantage of a day set aside for city leaders to meet with members of the Washington State Legislature. Councilor Danielle Clevidence said legislators and their staffs were actively interested in state government overreach affecting rural communities. “It went very well,” she said, “They wanted specific ideas and thoughts on what affected us, specifically when it would incur more costs for us for small things like administration that don’t
affect big cities at all but would bring us to our knees.” She said they also discussed bills that were still actively moving through the legislature in terms of those to oppose and those to support. One of the latter, she said, was Senate Bill 5060, which would provide $100 million to hire new law enforcement officers. “They were really, really interested in what we had to say about that,” she said. “This could be a big thing for us. We’ve been shorthanded from 10 to 40 percent for the last 20 years, so for anyone who wants to see more law enforcement officers, this would be a good opportunity for you to voice your opinion to our representatives.” She said many of the legislators
and staff they met with became interested in visiting Goldendale during Community Days, and she said the council plans on sending them a formal invitation. The other big topic was parking. Mayor Dave Jones reported that the Public Works Committee had recommended specific actions involving two streets: eliminating parking on East Collins between the Roosevelt intersection and Sanders Street, and on West Broadway. In addition, they suggested turning the intersections of Roosevelt and East Collins and West Broadway and Mill into four-way stops. During public comment, East Collins resident Sharon Kindler said she opposed eliminating parking on both sides of the street, and said the problem in the
area was hospital workers parking on the street. “The hospital tells me they provided employee parking,” she said, “They just haven’t forced them to use it.” Councilors voted to hold public hearings on the two proposals as part of upcoming regular Goldendale City Council meetings: the East Collins proposal at the April 7 meeting and the West Broadway proposal on April 21. And Police Chief Mike Smith reported that even though February is the shortest month, the 275 calls they received in those 28 days were 20 more than those in the 31 days of January. Senate Bill 5060, with its money for new law enforcement officers, would be a boon to cities like Goldendale.
Ferguson proposes $4 billion in spending cuts JAKE GOLDSTEIN-STREET AND BILL LUCIA WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has a plan for about $7 billion in budget cuts, but he and Democrats in the Legislature have a ways to go before they solve a shortfall that may be more than double that size. The governor presented $4 billion in new reductions on Thursday and said he supports another $3 billion in savings former Gov. Jay Inslee proposed in December. This scrub is Ferguson’s first step in addressing an operating budget deficit that Democratic lawmakers say is roughly $12 billion over the next four years. Ferguson pegged the number higher, at $15 billion. That leaves a gap somewhere in the ballpark of $5 billion to $8 bil-
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lion that would need to be closed with reductions, spending delays, or new tax collections. An updated state revenue forecast expected in March could either help or hurt that outlook. Washington’s current two-year budget is around $70 billion. Ferguson outlined his blueprint in a press conference Thursday. It includes one furlough day per month for most state workers and eliminating the equivalent of about 1,000 full-time employees through cutting vacant or new positions, attrition and other means. To what degree state lawmakers will embrace his proposals remains to be seen. Lead Democrats in the Legislature have already indicated that they believe new taxes or tax increases will be necessary. Ferguson has avoided saying what tax proposals he might sup-
BILL LUCIA, WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD
WHAT TO CUT?: Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks to reporters at the state Capitol on Feb. 27 about his plans to cut state spending by about $4 billion over four years. port. And on Thursday he said it’s still too soon for that conversation. He noted the upcoming revenue forecast could affect those discussions. “Our energy’s been focused entirely on this process, which is time-consuming, and a lot of de-
cisions being made to get that $4 billion, to put it mildly,” he said. He added: “We’re not going to tax our way out of this thing. Not going to happen.” But the Senate’s lead budget writer, Sen. June Robinson, D-Ev-
See Cuts page B4
Washington State Association of Counties lobbyist Zak Kennedy painted a daunting picture of the state’s financial situation at the Klickitat County Commissioner meeting on February 24. “Our state budget is increasingly in peril,” he said, “and it’s getting worse. Federal dollars coming down to Washington State are definitely in jeopardy. California caved Friday. They finally pulled back a lot of their policies. Washington has not yet. Our Attorney General is doubling down on sanctuary cities and things like that, so we’re just going to shake that stick at the feds and see how long we can hold out.” He said revenue forecasters budget writers were “kind of freaking out” and have no idea what the actual revenue will be because a lot of budget items have federal matching dollars that may or may not be granted. Kennedy also warned that in an atmosphere like that, lawmakers are looking for ways to trim by shifting responsibilities. One example, he said, is the proliferation of affordable housing bills, many of which would take the state’s financial burden of servicing the housing market and shift it to the counties. During Sheriff Bob Songer’s appearance, he spoke against House Bill 1399, which he said would put the sheriffs under control of the state government. The bill would set eligibility requirements, duties and responsibilities of all law enforcement executives, whether sheriffs, police chiefs, or marshals– appointed or elected–subject to the same requirements and standards. It would also curtail some of the activities of volunteers and posse members, including a restriction on carrying firearms. On the positive side, Commissioner Todd Andrews noted the good working relationships between law enforcement agencies in the area. “I spoke with both police chiefs,” he said. “They say interagency cooperation, even with tribal, has been really good.” To which Songer replied: “It’s got to be that way. If you don’t have that cooperation, the only person that benefits is the bad guy.” And the county prepared to say farewell to Fiscal Services Manager Jennifer Neil, who has taken another position and will be genuinely missed. She was at her last commissioner meeting and showed commissioners a mockup of a tri-fold brochure on the county budget and budget process that she said she would finish before she left. “This is just one of a lot of examples of how she’s made the information understandable and transparent and available,” said Human Resources Director Robb Van Cleave. “I’ve worked in a lot of governments, and that’s rarely the case. I think she’s done a tremendous job.” Under the consent agenda, commissioners approved: • Notice to vendors of the 2025 liquid asphalt purchase, with a total estimated project cost range from $400,000 to $650,000. • Notice to contractors of the 2025 Annual Striping Program, RN 642-25 with an engineer’s estimate is between $350,000 and $600,000. • Digital submittal for the
See County page B1